Lent 2023
Seeking: Honest Questions for Deeper Faith
Our theme for our Lenten worship series from A Sanctified Art is Seeking: Honest Questions for Deeper Faith. As we explore the stories of Jesus encouraging people who are seeking, each person is hoping for a new beginning, a different life, a deeper faith. Like the characters in these stories, especially after the turbulence of the past few years, we are also seeking many things: clarity, connection, wonder, justice, balance. We are seeking our calling and how to live as disciples of Christ. Throughout the season of Lent, we invite you to stay curious, open and nimble as you continually ask yourself: what am I seeking? What is God seeking?
Our Wednesday night Lenten study meets every Wednesday in March and is based on the book “Meeting Jesus at the Table: A Lenten Study” written by our local Presbyterian ministerial colleagues, Cynthia M. Campbell and Christine Coy Fohr. You can order your book here or call the church office at 502-245-5818 to reserve a copy. Watch the video below for an overview of the book.
Also, during this prayerful time, access the weekly devotional here.
Lenten Schedule
Ash Wednesday
February 22, 7 p.m.
Is this the fast that I choose? As we begin our series, we must examine if our actions match what we profess. As we practice seeking this Lent, what kind of fast will you choose? How will you live your faith? How will you live the questions of your faith?
Sermon by Rev. John Kupar
First Sunday in Lent
February 26, 8:45 and 11 a.m.
Matthew 4:1-11 | Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
Seeking the fruit of the garden, Adam and Eve allow the snake’s manipulative voice to become louder than God’s voice. In the wilderness, Jesus defies the deception of the tempter by listening intuitively—to God, to his inner moral compass, to the teachings of his faith. And so, who will you listen to? What sources do you seek for news, information, and media? Whose voices—and what messages—take up too much space in your head? Within the onslaught of messaging we receive, we are invited to choose carefully.
Sermon by Rev. John Kupar
Meeting Jesus at the Table
Lenten Study and Supper
Wednesday, March 1, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Fellowship Hall
Second Sunday in Lent
March 5, 8:45 and 11 a.m.
John 3:1-17 | Genesis 12:1-4a
Nicodemus comes to Jesus under the veil of night to ask him big faith questions. Jesus invites him to begin again, to learn a new way of knowing and living out his faith. In Genesis, God commands Abram and Sarai to leave everything—their home, their family, their land—to seek the land of Canaan and begin again. Like Nicodemus, what are the questions we ask in the dark? Like Abram and Sarai, how do we follow God’s calling to begin again?
Meeting Jesus at the Table
Lenten Study and Supper
Wednesday, March 8, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Fellowship Hall
Third Sunday in Lent
March 12, 8:45 and 11 a.m.
John 4:5-42 | Exodus 17:1-7
In the heat of midday, Jesus seeks out a Samaritan woman drawing water from a well. His command to her is also a question and an invitation into a new way of life: “Will you give me a drink?” This question creates a dialogue between them in which Jesus sees the woman fully; she leaves the well transformed. In the wilderness, the Israelites essentially ask: “Will you give us a drink, God? Will you take care of us, even now?” This week, we might imagine ourselves at the well or in the wilderness. Are we willing to care for our neighbors, seeking to not just quench thirst, but to find living waters that sustain us all?
Sermon by Rev. John Kupar
Meeting Jesus at the Table
Lenten Study and Supper
Wednesday, March 15, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Fellowship Hall
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 19, 8:45 and 11 a.m.
John 9:1-7 | John 9:8-41
When Jesus and the disciples encounter a blind man along the way, the disciples immediately ask, “Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:2). They ask a really bad question, filled with assumptions and harmful theology. Unfortunately, the crowd continues to interrogate the man and dissect the miracle of his healing. This week, let us pay attention to the questions we ask. What assumptions do we carry? What is our intent? When seeking clarity or understanding, what are better questions we can ask?
Sermon by Rev. Tara Reck
Meeting Jesus at the Table
Lenten Study and Supper
Wednesday, March 22, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Fellowship Hall
Fifth Sunday in Lent
March 26, 8:45 and 11 a.m.
John 11:1-45 | Ezekiel 37:1-14
In Ezekiel’s vision, God asks the prophet, “Can these bones live?” Do we believe new life can come after death? Can we find hope when things are bleak? Can we really trust in God’s resurrection? While we look to God to carry us through the valley, God looks to us to embody hope for others. As we prepare to enter Holy Week, we remember how Jesus began his final journey toward resurrection: by returning to Judea after the death of his dear friend, Lazarus. As we walk through the valley of dry bones that leads us to Calvary Hill, let us seek out the hope that will stir in us and sustain us.
Sermon by Rev. Tara Reck
Meeting Jesus at the Table
Lenten Study and Supper
Wednesday, March 29, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Fellowship Hall
Holy Week
Passion/Palm Sunday
April 2, 11 a.m.
Matthew 21:1-17
Imagine you are in Jerusalem when Jesus enters on a donkey. Within the chaos and commotion of that scene, where are you and which way will you go? Will you follow Jesus all the way to the cross? Jesus’ willing surrender to his arrest should always catch us off-guard. As dismayed as the disciples, we ask, “Jesus, are you really headed this way, straight to your death?” Many of our weekly questions throughout the season so far have helped us prepare spiritually for Holy Week. Now we examine if our beliefs have changed our behaviors. Has your path changed? In the midst of opposing forces, which way will you go?
Sermon by Rev. John Kupar
Maundy Thursday
April 6, 5:30 p.m.
Join us in the Fellowship Hall for dinner followed by worship around the table.
Good Friday
April 7, Noon
This will be a combined service with the choirs and pastor of St Luke's Episcopal church at APC
Easter
April 9, 9 and 11 a.m.
John 20:1-18
Jesus, mysteriously appearing to Mary as the gardener, asks her: “Why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” In the haze of grief, Mary can only see what is right before her—or in this case, what is not before her. It is only when Jesus calls her by name that the veil is lifted and she beholds the resurrected Christ. On this Easter morning, who—or what—are you looking for? Why have you come to the tomb? What kind of Jesus are you looking for? What veils need to be lifted so we can recognize God’s resurrection wherever it occurs?
Egg Hunt
Following 11 a.m. Easter service